Did you know that Vashon had numerous large stills producing illegal alcohol during Prohibition in 1931? Or that most of Vashon town was destroyed by a fire in 1935? Or that Vashon State Park was developed at Dockton and built by Works Progress Administration workers in 1936? Or that irate islanders stormed the ferry Elwha and occupied it overnight in a sit-down strike to protest proposed ferry changes in 1938?
These and other interesting items can be found in the newspaper summaries from the 1920s to the 1940s being compiled by island native Mike Sudduth, whose grandparents P. Monroe and Agnes Smock owned and edited the Vashon Island News Record from 1920 to 1942. These summaries are part of the VashonHistory.com website, which includes a Vashon History section, a Vashon Census Project section, a Vashon articles section and a section that is being developed on the Japanese Presence Project.
The Vashon Island News Record formed when the Vashon Island Record and the Vashon Island News combined. The Record, which started in Vashon in 1907, was purchased in 1914 by Ira Case and moved to Burton because Mr. Case felt the newspaper was not giving enough attention to the south end of the island. In response to the move, Robert M. Jones started the News in 1916 at Vashon. For three years, the island had two newspapers — one in Burton and one in Vashon town — until December of 1919, when Jones purchased the Record and combined it with the News to create the Vashon Island News Record. The new combined newspaper continued to be published until 1958, when it was purchased by the newly created Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber and ceased publication.
Issues of the News Record are preserved on microfiche and are available at the Vashon Library and the University of Washington library. In recent years, new technology has made it possible to scan the papers from microfiche and save them to a personal computer as digital images. Using these digital images, Mike Sudduth has been transcribing stories from the newspapers, stories that provide unique insights into daily life on Vashon-Maury Island.
The period from 1920 to 1942, when the Smocks owned and edited the News Record, was one of hard times. During the 1920s, an agricultural depression hit the island and Vashon lost population as agricultural workers and families left the island. During the 1930s, the Great Depression left many islanders unemployed and dependent on government-created construction jobs. And the hard times of the early 1940s were when the United States prepared for the coming war in Europe and after the attack on Pearl Harbor catapulted America into World War II.
Besides capturing and sharing this interesting period of island history, Sudduth has discovered many personal family tidbits, including a published poem written by his grandfather about his mother when she was born. With the News-Records from 1925 to 1939 already transcribed and available online, Sudduth expects to complete the remainder of the 1920 to 1942 News-Records during this year. As each following year is transcribed, it will all be added to VashonHistory.com website for the enjoyment of anyone interested in island history.
— Bruce Haulman is an island historian.
